Proper Names
by VickyVicarious
Summary: A series of acrostic poems exploring various characters. [acrostic poetry: the first letter of each line spells a word (in this case, a name) going down the page.]
1. Chapter 1

Written in response to a PWKM prompt. I went with the characters I did largely to avoid duplicating, as there were many other (truly lovely) fills. ...That said, these were a ton of fun to write so if anyone has interest, request away and I'd be happy to write more about other characters.

Title is a reference to the W.H. Auden quote: "Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable."

This chapter: Godot, Miles Edgeworth, Klavier Gavin, Simon Blackquill.

* * *

Gone are the days  
Of warm smiles, gentle kisses, feeling proud.  
Defending innocents isn't possible  
Once you've lost everything that made you happy -  
Too selfish, yes, but you've also lost the ability to care.

-xxx-

Manfred tells you, "Failure  
Is for the weak." What follows are  
Long, long years spent alone,  
Eyes closed tight,  
Swearing to yourself that you are strong.

Everything changes when first you are  
Defeated - not immediately, but  
Gradually, inevitably, you understand  
Every win you've ever had meant nothing.  
Winning in court doesn't make you strong.  
Only a fool could believe that - what matters,  
Really matters, more than weakness or strength ever has, is  
The truth, even if you lose. You don't need to be made of stone;  
Home isn't a dream in the distance.

-xxx-

Kristoph was your childhood hero; you felt  
Little need for for any other idol.  
Always on his heels, feeling  
Victorious when he triumphed, his heroism never  
In the least bit of doubt.  
Exactly how little did he think of you?  
Reminding yourself is so hard, even now.

Giving up on him does not take much:  
Acceptance comes easy. He's always been capable of  
Viciousness. That is not the challenge.  
It's just remembering, every morning - he will  
Never be anyone's hero again.

-xxx-

Seven years in prison are  
In truth, less scarring;  
More habit-forming.  
Overcoming the routine is the worst part of  
Newfound freedom.

Bedtime is strict:  
Lights out, nine-thirty. Meals  
Are still no more than sustenance.  
Cold temperatures,  
Keeping line-of-sight with the doors,  
Questioning the silence (where are the cellmates snoring?). It's  
Unsettling now, the peace and quiet  
Ill-suited to who you have become.  
Leaving the prison itself was easy, when all was said and done.  
Letting go of it is harder. Sometimes you doubt you ever will.


	2. Chapter 2

Phoenix Wright, Pearl Fey, Dick Gumshoe, Judge.

* * *

People you've never met recognize you now. It's  
Heavier than you would have thought.  
Of course, it doesn't happen often, but  
Even a little feels too much. Feels big-headed,  
Narcissistic to acknowledge the ways you've made legal history.  
If anyone asked, you consider your own career something of an  
Xtreme Sports parody of what law should be.

Which is the point, perhaps:  
Recognizing the absurdity of the things you've done.  
It's sobering, now, at thirty-six, to think that this can still happen.  
Gut-churning, when it happens to Trucy, when you see  
How little you've actually changed. You want that juror system to be more than a  
Test - you're older, a little embarrassed, but you're far from done yet.

-xxx-

Prodigy, your mother called you.  
Even before you learned to read or write, you'd memorized  
All the functions of a magatama. She never made it feel  
Required; the hours and hours of training were simply a fact of  
Life, like brushing your teeth.

Freedom from expectations you never even really understood - it feels  
Ecstatic, surprisingly so. Heartbreakingly so.  
You never knew how little you were given till she was gone.

-xxx-

Drawing from the hip always looked cool  
In movies; they give you a shoulder holster. You grow accustomed to salary  
Cuts, to being insulted: idiotic, bumbling, trusting, too  
Kind. Sometimes you wonder what you'll do when you get fired.

Giving up isn't something you think about. You'd  
Understand if they kick you out, but it's been so  
Many years now that you've wanted this.  
So what if it's nothing like you expected?  
Heroes don't wear capes anymore -  
Or trench-coats. But that doesn't matter.  
Even if you aren't a hero, you can still help people.

-xxx-

Just how many years have you presided?  
Upset trials and foregone conclusions -  
Delivering a verdict can only go two ways.  
Guilty, or innocent? The either-or  
Eats at you sometimes; you've judged too many who are both.


End file.
